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Get-FormatData

  • Reference
Module:
Microsoft.PowerShell.Utility

Gets the formatting data in the current session.

Syntax

Get-FormatData
   [[-TypeName] <String[]>]
   [-PowerShellVersion <Version>]
   [<CommonParameters>]

Description

The Get-FormatData cmdlet gets the formatting data in the current session.

The formatting data in the session includes formatting data from Format.ps1xml formatting files, such as those in the $PSHOME directory, formatting data for modules that you import into the session, and formatting data for commands that you import into your session by using the Import-PSSession cmdlet.

You can use this cmdlet to examine the formatting data. Then, you can use the Export-FormatData cmdlet to serialize the objects, convert them to XML, and save them in Format.ps1xml files.

For more information about formatting files in PowerShell, see about_Format.ps1xml.

Examples

Example 1: Get all formatting data

This example gets all the formatting data in the session.

Get-FormatData

Example 2: Get formatting data by type name

This example gets the formatting data items whose names begin with System.Management.Automation.Cmd.

Get-FormatData -TypeName 'System.Management.Automation.Cmd*'

Example 3: Examine a formatting data object

This example shows how to get a formatting data object and examine its properties.

$F = Get-FormatData -TypeName 'System.Management.Automation.Cmd*'
$F

TypeName        FormatViewDefinition
--------        --------------------
HelpInfoShort   {help , TableControl}

$F.FormatViewDefinition[0].control

Headers          : {System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
                   System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
                   System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader,
                   System.Management.Automation.TableControlColumnHeader}
Rows             : {System.Management.Automation.TableControlRow}
AutoSize         : False
HideTableHeaders : False
GroupBy          :
OutOfBand        : False

$F.FormatViewDefinition[0].control.Headers

Label       Alignment Width
-----       --------- -----
CommandType Undefined    15
Name        Undefined    50
Version     Undefined    10
Source      Undefined     0

Example 4: Get formatting data and export it

This example shows how to use Get-FormatData and Export-FormatData to export the formatting data that is added by a module.

$A = Get-FormatData
Import-Module bitstransfer
$B = Get-FormatData
Compare-Object $A $B

InputObject                                                SideIndicator
-----------                                                -------------
Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.BitsJob =>

Get-FormatData *bits* | Export-FormatData -FilePath c:\test\bits.format.ps1xml
Get-Content c:\test\bits.format.ps1xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?><Configuration><ViewDefinitions>
<View><Name>Microsoft.BackgroundIntelligentTransfer.Management.BitsJob</Name>
...

The first four commands use the Get-FormatData, Import-Module, and Compare-Object cmdlets to identify the format type that the BitsTransfer module adds to the session.

The fifth command uses the Get-FormatData cmdlet to get the format type that the BitsTransfer module adds. It uses a pipeline operator (|) to send the format type object to the Export-FormatData cmdlet, which converts it back to XML and saves it in the specified format.ps1xml file.

The final command shows an excerpt of the format.ps1xml file content.

Example 5: Get formatting data based on the specified version of PowerShell

This example shows how to use Get-FormatData to get format data for a specified TypeName and PowerShell version.

Get-FormatData -TypeName 'Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash' -PowerShellVersion $PSVersionTable.PSVersion

TypeNames                               FormatViewDefinition
---------                               --------------------
{Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash} {Microsoft.Powershell.Utility.FileHash}

Important

To ensure that the complete type formatting information is returned, you should always include the PowerShellVersion parameter with the appropriate version. If the parameter and value are omitted, you may not get all the correct type information.

Parameters

-PowerShellVersion

Specify the version of PowerShell this cmdlet gets for the formatting data. Enter a two digit number separated by a period.

This parameter was added in PowerShell 5.1 to improve compatibility when remoting computers running older versions of PowerShell.

Type:Version
Position:Named
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:False

-TypeName

Specifies the type names that this cmdlet gets for the formatting data. Enter the type names. Wildcards are permitted.

Type:String[]
Position:0
Default value:None
Required:False
Accept pipeline input:False
Accept wildcard characters:True

Inputs

None

You can't pipe objects to this cmdlet.

Outputs

ExtendedTypeDefinition